monarch1946

I can't remember the year Tufty died. I think trhat it was before we moved from Surrey in 1994 although we could have been told about it later.The usual sudden heart attack tale. Did the trip to the Final give you the taste for life in the States? Where do you live? We had ben there prior to that trip and loved it and have been many times since. Apart from the Wimbledon trip we always travelled independantly by Trailways, Greyhound or Amtrak. The only place we really felt unsafe was in Baltimore and that was 30 years before The Wire. We went as I wanted to go to the Preakness at Pimlico and we also have friends there. Beacuse of the Preakness all the Downtown hotels were full. I phoned a few places from the station and one way out on the Beltway said that they had a room. When we got to it the bus driver said, Your not going to stay there are you, It was ramshackled. He said that there was another place down the road that looked better and he dropped us off at it. I was taken aback at the clientel hanging around. They had a room but were surprised that we wanted it for two nights... seemed that most rented by the hour. An interesting place with continous blue movies, a big round bath and a previous guest had left her panties under the bed. Strangly they had an M&S label on them.

We were all to enthralled by SF to notice you were missing. We have been there three times since as well as going to The Canyon (it was snowing) and Vegas again. By the time we went back in 1997 The Flamingo had been rebuilt.The Brannif bags lasted quite well and we still have the booklet about the trip.I expect you know that Tufty died a long time ago. My wife also had a tooth problem all the time we were there. I even tried to persaude her to go a Mexican dentist when we crossed the border to Juarez:-) The day we went there Mexico had a devaluation and there was no official exchange rate. They were joking.. I give you one million Pesos for one American Dollar. I compared it to a hot version of Glasgow. The only time she forgot the tooth pain was when I was on stage as a magicians assistant at the Alladin in LV. I did my best to screw up his act. The Santa Rita had a good buffet breakfast but I don't remember Fritz. Downtown Tuscon was totally deserted at night but the Cops went round in threes. We had difficulty finding a place to eat and eventually wandered in to the Marriott to find that most of the others had got there as well. We live in Eastbournere so my wife is now an Eastbourne supporter when she can get there as she has to rely on getting a lift. Derek

I remmeber you and your mate getting left behind at SF airport the night before the Final! The side trip to SF was my suggestion as Tufty had not initially included it in the itinary. We were actually lucky to get to America as the original Airline Brannif had gone bust but AA honoured our tickets when they took over the route. We did not go to Ventura, Allan known as Anders did and he asked us to look after his wife Sue for the evening. We must have looked after her too well as he was taken aback by the cost of her dinner and drinks. He and Sue were having the trip as a belated honeymoon. I was sitting next to Sue when the engine at our side went. She said that the engine sound had changed.I pointed out the window where the engine was spurting oil. Do you remember that the movie being shown was Death Trap. We had been delayed at Gatwick while they had replaced the oil seals on that engine. Although on his honeymoon Anders wanted to go a Bar with Strippers in El Paso so I 'reluctantly' agreed to go with him:-) It was a dodgy place with the cops making regular visits. We left when it looked safe as the Cops were there. Next day two others... You? said that they had been chased over the dark car park by some Mexicans. We went around in a group with Anders and Sue and my wifes friend Belle and her son Paul and a girl called Beryl who was travelling on her own. Remember Roger in his Union Jack Shorts and always late for the bus? In those far off days all of my pictures were on slides and I have only scanned a few on to my computer. The drivers were great (was Dale a Del?) One night in Vegas we did a double take when meeting them when they were out of uniforms and all dressed up. They were very touched by our whip round at the end of the trip. Derek

My wife and I went to the 1982 World FInal in LA with Wimbledon speedway supporters club. Some also took in Ventura Speedway. There must have been about sixty of us travelling around California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas in two Trailways buses. Any Fans from that trip around on this Forum?

He gave us a copy of his book. When I mentioned Bill Marchant he was on reflection the photo finish operator at Wimbledon.

You should have recorded his memories for posterity. Did he fill the refs box with his pipe smoke? It was quite a pungent tobacco that he smoked.We had to open the windows after he visited us. Did you work at the Dog meetings as well? I used to work with Bill Marchant who was the the timekeeper for the GRA.

This is rather a belated reply as I just came across the Forum today. As well as being Wimbledon timekeeper Lionel was referee and guiding spirit to youngsters at the Iwade training track. My wife used to go to meetings there with him and she eventually became the announcer. Lionel used to come to us for Christmas dinner and his son Ray came with him on ocasion. Lionel passed away in 2002. My wife went to the crematorium service. We lost touch with Ray after that.